AmigaOS

AmigaOS is the native operating system for the Commodore Amiga, the (later renamed Shell ) consists of the components Workbench, the AmigaDOS with the CLI command line interpreter and located in most Amiga models in ROM kernel kickstart.

Development

The system was developed by Amiga 1982 to 1984 and completed after its acquisition by Commodore in 1985 in the first version. The AmigaDOS component and parts kickstart based on TRIPOS, a multiuser operating system from the company MetaComCo, which was developed in the programming language BCPL.

For its time, that is, between 1985 and 1992, AmigaOS had outstanding properties that are achieved in combination to used today by any operating system:

  • 32 -bit architecture
  • Preemptive multitasking similar to Unix machines ( AmigaOS was next to Unix for many years the only multitasking desktop operating system )
  • Microkernel architecture with loadable shared libraries and device drivers ( Devices)
  • Library calls with version control
  • Programmable real-time interrupts with low latency
  • Programmable file system devices
  • Application-independent printer driver - for lack of manufacturer support created a market for other manufacturers. Turboprint uses the thus created niche today for Linux.
  • Application-independent data type driver. About Datatypes the exchange of data as a plugin has been resolved. The determination of the data type was also independently from the file name.
  • Windows-based graphical user interface
  • Mouse -oriented boot menu - were new disks added to the system with the OS, it asked from, from which the system was to start. The entire hardware detection ( AutoConfig of Zorro bus - already similar to PCI, at times when you had to reposition the IBM PC still typically jumper) also took place by today's standards very quickly.
  • Application-based desktops (called screens) in different graphic and color resolution
  • As of version 2.1 is an international localization ( i18n ) dynamically possible
  • International 8- bit character set to ISO 8859-1
  • Complete abstraction of the data memory of the hardware: If one speaks volumes about the name, it is with removable media, regardless of what drive they are, and if they are not logged in they are requested by the user - in this form it is this ability only AmigaOS.
  • Standardized process communication via ARexx, a highly compatible REXX version.

The first 68k CPUs presented no Memory Management Unit available. Therefore AmigaOS was without memory protection - which in the mid-1980s home computer segment also, however, was not an issue.

The Workbench was not absolutely necessary to the functioning of the computer, since the operating system kernel and many system libraries in the Kickstart ROM were included, which is why many computer games were loaded directly from the kick start to use more memory can. This, however, the multitasking features of the operating system have been disabled.

Up to version 3.1 ( 1994) AmigaOS was developed by Commodore. For the development of versions 3.5 (1999) and 3.9 (2000) were Amiga Inc. and Haage & Partner responsible. After Hyperion Entertainment has worked on behalf of Amiga Inc. in version 4 of AmigaOS, the first version of AmigaOS, which does not support MC68000 processors more, but only runs on Motorola's PowerPC series. AmigaOS 4 is PowerPC based AmigaOne platform of Eyetech available. In parallel, working on a version for traditional Amiga systems that are equipped with a PowerPC processor expansion card. This is delivered to end users since 3 December 2007.

The Hyperion Entertainment announced for the third quarter of 2008, version 4.1 has been available since early September. Is supported AmigaOne platform and the first time the mainboard series SAM440 the company Acube system. This is the first update that is no longer available for free AmigaOne users.

Since 31 January 2009, AmigaOS is 4.1 for the mainboard type Pegasos II available.

Under AmigaOS 4 programs for 68k Amigas are generally executed in an emulation of the 68k processor for compatibility depends necessary by the JIT compilation also used.

Using the GNU utilities to AmigaOS converts into a unixoides operating system. In this context, the editor vim was built, also AmigaOS was in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for a time the main development platform for many GNU tools, including the GCC.

Some graphics and multimedia programs available for Windows and / or Mac today come from the Amiga platform these days.

Versions

See: Kickstart

From AmigaOS systems derived

  • MorphOS - An alternative to running 68k AmigaOS 3.1 programs on current PowerPC hardware in the form of Pegasos machine family is MorphOS. For the execution of native PowerPC software AmigaOS 4 and MorphOS use different approaches, which are not compatible with each other. By providing mutual emulation approaches ( OS4Emu or ppclibemu ) are working here from a third party solutions that lead more of a prototype exemplary niche for lack of readiness for formal cooperation, however.
  • AROS and depreciation - The AROS project is an approach to simulate a free AmigaOS 3.1 environment on x86 processors (and other CPUs). Through an accurate picture of the AmigaOS API to Amiga programs can be ported to AROS by recompiling. In the form of depreciation ( AROS for AmigaOS ) also there is a project that is aimed to make the innovations introduced by AROS by backport available under AmigaOS and emulation solution WinUAE.

Programming interfaces

Internet

Hexagon = PowerPC native Rectangle = No SANA - II

LAN

  • Envoy
  • Parnet (actually peer -to-peer )

Graphic

2D:

  • CyberGraphX ​​( phase5 ) by Frank Mariak
  • Picasso 96 by Tobias Abt and Alexander Kneer
  • EGS (obsolete )

3D:

  • MiniGL of Hyperion Entertainment mglut.library
  • Agle.library
  • Aglsmap.library
  • Aglu.library
  • Aglut.library

Audio

  • AHI by Martin Blom
  • CAMD MIDI
  • MHI by Paul Qureshi and Thomas Wenzel
  • Mpeg.device the CD ³ ²
  • Mpega.library by Stephane Tavenard
  • Toccata.library of MacroSystem

Video

  • VHI of IOSPIRIT GmbH
  • Mpeg.device the CD ³ ²
  • Tv.library Elbox computer
  • Tvcard.library or valiantvision.library by Guido Mersmann
  • P4specials.library of Village Tronic Computer

GUI

  • GadTools BGUI by Jan van den Baard
  • Triton by Stefan pointer
  • StormWizard of Haage & Partner

Bus

  • Zorro expansion.library
  • Openpci.library of Benjamin Vernoux
  • Pci.library Elbox computer
  • Pcix.library and cybpci.library by Ralph Schmidt
  • Anaiis
  • Poseidon
  • Sirion

HDD

  • Trackdisk 64-bit ( TD64 )
  • New Style Device (NSD )

User Management

  • Usergroup.library ( AmiTCP )
  • Accounts.library ( Envoy )

Virtual Memory

Commodore has provided no interface available, alternatively there are

  • Vmem.library ( GigaMem )
  • Vmm.library (VMM by Martin Apel )
  • VMEM evolution (macro system )
Commodore International License Workbench (AmigaOS) Read-only memory Kickstart (Amiga) Amiga Zorro II Jumper (computing) Motorola 68000 Just-in-time compilation GNU Project AROS Research Operating System UAE (emulator) Mesa (computer graphics) OpenGL Utility Library OpenGL Utility Toolkit Magic User Interface Amiga Fast File System AmigaGuide Amiga Hunk KIM-1 Commodore CBM-II Commodore 900 Commodore MAX Machine Commodore SX-64 Commodore 16 Commodore Plus4 Amiga 1000 Amiga Sidecar Amiga 600 Amiga 3000T Amiga 3000UX Amiga 4000 Commodore Datasette Commodore 1540 Commodore 1551 Commodore 1581 Clock port MOS Technology VIC MOS Technology VIC II MOS Technology TED MOS Technology 8563 MOS Technology 6522 MOS Technology CIA MOS Technology 6551 MOS Technology Agnus Original Chip Set#Paula Amiga Halfbrite mode Original Chip Set Amiga Enhanced Chip Set Amiga Advanced Graphics Architecture PETSCII GEOS (8-bit operating system) Commodore DOS
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